Jesus Christ has been controversial since the moment He was conceived. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 35 Q. What does it mean that he “was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary”? A. That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took to himself, through the working of the Holy Spirit, from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, a truly human nature so that he might become David’s true descendant, like his brothers in every way except for sin. Summary Imagine how terrified Mary, probably 11 or 12 years old here, felt when Gabriel, one of God's chief angels, appeared before her. Luke, who is somewhat known for his dry sense of humor in how he reported the facts in his gospel and the book of Acts, writes that Mary was 'greatly troubled' and that she 'wondered what kind of greeting this might be.' I'll bet she wondered! My guess is that Gabriel's announcement that she was 'highly favored' and that the 'Lord is with you' didn't immediately take root in her mind. She was probably too flabbergasted for it to register. But as if those opening announcements weren't shocking enough, the next thing Gabriel said would have pushed most people completely over the edge. Mary would bear a child - but not just an ordinary child - one who would be called 'the Son of the Most High.' Somehow Mary is able to gather her wits at this point and push back on Gabriel a bit. Everything she'd been taught about the birds and the bees argued against what she was being told. She was a virgin, and this sort of thing doesn't happen to girls like her! Gabriel's reply probably made sense to him, but imagine what it would be like for Mary to hear that she would become pregnant when the power of the Holy Spirit of the Most High would overshadowed her. I wonder, did those words comfort her or terrify her more? But Gabriel still has one more shock for Mary. It turns out that barren old Aunt Elizabeth had been pregnant for six months now. Dig Deeper The doctrine of the virgin birth is one of the most doubted and disbelieved in all of Christian history. Some people have denied it because they deny all of the supernatural and miraculous claims the Bible makes, but others seem to be willing to accept many of the Bible's miracles, but draw the line at a virgin conceiving a child. No doubt young Mary struggled with these doubts as well. Think of how she must of tossed and turned at night wondering who in the world would believe her story. It was even too much for Joseph, until Gabriel showed up to set him straight at least. As we're going to see this week, the doctrine of the virgin birth is not just some Biblical oddity that you can take or leave. In fact, your entire salvation depends on this bizarre sounding account being true. Mary's resolve seems to strengthen upon hearing the last thing Gabriel said to her: For no word from God will ever fail (v37) Look at how Mary aligns her life with God's will after hearing this. "I am the Lord's servant," she said. Make sure your life models Mary's faithfulness, even when God's will seems shocking or contrary to everything you thought you knew. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose will often looks so different than what we expect. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray the words Mary prays upon hearing this shocking news: "May your word to me be fulfilled." ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - James 3

Jesus gave the shortest, most powerful sermon ever, and it's good news for you! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 31 Q. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”? A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance; our only high priest who has set us free by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us. Summary Jesus' public ministry took off like a rocket after His baptism. His cousin, John the Baptist, was already gathering crowds who went far out into the wilderness to hear this eccentric prophet speak about the coming Messiah, so you can imagine the anticipation people had after the heavens were torn open, a booming voice indicated it was pleased with 'my son,' while a dove descended upon Jesus. Soon after His baptism and subsequent months-long time of temptation in the wilderness, Jesus re-emerged into society and the miracle show began. All sorts of people were healed, water was turned to wine, and Jesus has become a rock star with mobs of people following Him everywhere He went. The opportunity came for Jesus to return to His home synagogue in Nazareth, and you can imagine the locals packed the synagogue to hear their native son who had become famous. What would he say? It just so happened that the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Jesus, and He unrolled it nearly all the way to the end. He read the passage quoted by Luke: The Spirit of the Lord is on me... He's anointed me... He's sent me to proclaim good news, freedom, and the Lord's blessing. When Jesus finished reading, He sat down. You can bet the packed room was on pins and needles. Every eye, Luke writes, was fastened on Jesus. Jesus then delivers one of the shortest, most powerful sermons ever preached: Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. This was the ultimate mic drop moment. It stunned those present. From that moment on, the devil, who'd just been defeated by Jesus in the desert, sets about to turn public opinion against Jesus until they ultimately had Him nailed to a cross. Dig Deeper It often may seem like Christ is simply Jesus' last name, but that's not the case. Both the Greek word Christos and the Hebrew word Mashiyach (Messiah) both are titles which mean the same thing: Jesus, the anointed one. The concept of anointing is a distinctly ancient near eastern idea. The thought of oil being poured over our head doesn't seem all that attractive to us, but in the Old Testament, it was a big deal to be anointed. In fact, only a small contingent of men were anointed: prophets, priests, and kings. As we go through this week, we're going to see how Jesus the Christ fulfills all three of those offices, and why that's so important for you. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who through His Spirit anointed His Son Jesus to save us, His covenant people; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies on your behalf; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Hebrews 12

Jesus is coming soon to settle up. What will He bring for you? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 11 Q. [God won't permit sin to go unpunished...] But isn’t God also merciful? A. God is certainly merciful, but he is also just. His justice demands that sin, committed against his supreme majesty, be punished with the supreme penalty— eternal punishment of body and soul. Summary Today's passage is from the closing passage of the Bible, and it's packed full of theology that ought to give you hope. First of all, and most importantly, Jesus announces that He is coming soon! Yes, these words were recorded two millennia ago and we're still waiting, but remember God operates in the Divine Time Zone, which is entirely different than how we experience time in our world. So you ought to be ready at any moment. Second, Jesus is returning with His settlement. Since as a believer you've been given the perfect righteousness of Jesus, you ought to look forward to this! Jesus expands on what your reward will be in v14: "you will have the right to the tree of life, and you may go through the gates" and into the Kingdom of God! But a settlement cuts both ways. Those lacking the perfect righteousness God requires will get what they have coming as well, and it can be summed up in one word: exclusion. They will not be allowed in, and in fact their fate was sealed a few chapters earlier when they were cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:11-15). Dig Deeper Certainly the average American has a very distorted view of God in which the Father is viewed as an grandfatherly type who forgives sins and simply wants to bestow blessings upon His children, which they deserve for all of the good deeds they have performed in their lifetimes. So when they read that at the end, Jesus will return with His reward, they eagerly anticipate this, not understanding that a positive reward will be reserved only for those individuals possessing perfect righteousness, while all others will be paid back with the eternal wrath which their sins deserve. It ought to be obvious to you that you don't have the perfect righteous God requires, and if you're not putting your full faith in Jesus Christ, this ought to trouble you greatly! Don't be one of the myriads of people who shortchange themselves by just considering Jesus as their good buddy up in the sky whom they can call on when they get in a jamb. Christ came so that you might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). He did this by putting your sin upon Himself, and in exchange giving you His perfect righteousness, which you so desperately need. And He's coming... Soon! Be ready for His settlement by making sure that in every aspect of life, you belong to your faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The Alpha & Omega, the First & the Last, the Beginning & the End (v13) ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will submit every aspect of your life to Christ's Lordship, so that you can eagerly anticipate His settlement. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 4

Sometimes the truth hurts, but God's truth hurts in order to heal. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 3 Q. How do you come to know your misery? A. The law of God tells me. Summary One of our human tendencies is to lay blame on others while claiming yourself as blameless. These actions are common in children, yet adults are not immune to this either. It is this type of situation to which Paul steps in to give clarification. In these passages Paul argues that the Jewish believers were not in a superior position to the non-Jewish followers of Christ. The crux of his argument is the fact that both are under sin. Paul quotes a series of Old Testament passages from the Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah which together show the sinfulness of all mankind. Following this reminder of the sinfulness of all people, Paul points out in v19 that the law, in what we today call the Old Testament, was written to the Jewish people. The words so that every mouth may be stopped come as a reference to court customs of the Jewish people. When someone was done with their defense, they would put their hand over their mouth to signify they were finished speaking in their own defense. Since the law was given to the Jewish people, their mouths are silenced, for there is nothing else they can say in their defense. They were given the law, and Paul was certain to point out that they did not keep the law. In v20, Paul gives the clarification the Jewish people needed to hear: no one can be justified by upkeeping the law. Yes, they had the law, but they were unable to keep it. Instead, the function of the law is the agent through which we come to know our sin. Dig Deeper Learning is a life-long process. Regardless of what kind of diploma one might go on to earn, there is always more to know. Some of this is based upon our own limitations to learn, our inclination to forget, or more information being discovered. There are different ways that we learn, through life experience, a class, or reading a book. When it comes to our sin, which is the source of our misery, the Bible is where we learn the depth of our sinfulness. While it is unpleasant to be confronted with your own sinfulness, this serves an important role in your life. It is through this confrontation with our sin that we come to know the depth of our misery and our need for a savior. Truly, if you had no awareness of your debt of sin, how then could you come to know your need for the grace of Jesus? Praise God for all that He does on our behalf, including giving us the Word of God which makes us aware of our sinful state and need for redemption. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Father in heaven, your name is holy, and your law demands perfect righteousness. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Keep me close to your law, so that I continually recognize my own sinfulness and cling even tighter to the cross of Christ. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Mark 6

You have to let go of the darkness to walk in the light 1 John 1–2:2 (NIV) 1 That which was from the eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2   But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2   He Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity Today: 1 John 2

The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” 2 And here in Psalm 110, David unpacks and reinforces the victorious promises of Psalm 2. Notice that all of the pronouns in the first 4-1/2 verses are in the second person: the LORD telling these perpetual problems get the best of you, take a moment to read short psalms of victory like Psalm 2,

Bible.com 1 John 1–2:2 (NIV) 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2   unrighteousness. 10  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 2 But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2   He Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity

Anne of Green Gables Psalm 130 A song of ascents. 1   Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD; 2  Lord, Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity Point 4 - Irresistible Grace Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints Article 2: The Believer’s Reaction Put your flesh to death more and more  by a spirit of supplication 2 Lord, hear my voice. Today: 1 Peter 2

Logos.com 1 John 1–2:2 (NIV) 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2   unrighteousness. 10  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 2 But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2   He Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity

Ezekiel 1:15-2:7 (NASB95) 15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. 2 Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand 2 As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. 3 Then He is ordered not to mourn the death of his wife (24:16–17). He is told to make a model of the besieged Jerusalem and hold a sword up against it (4:1–2; 5:1–2).